Wednesday, November 04, 2015

November begins

Fall is finally here, with a light freeze last night. The purple peppers, yellow summer squash, figs, and wee acorn and butternut squashes came in. It was chilly enough to wilt the tomato bushes into mush, but not cold enough to completely discourage the honey bees or the yellowjackets. There's one spot that harbors an in-ground nest that's been problematic for a few months now. I'd hoped that today we'd finally gotten to weather that would allow some digging up and drubbing of that particular location, but alas. K and I went out to trim the seed heads off the bronze fennel (injuries have us tag teaming pretty much everything these days) and made it halfway through before the first honey bee appeared, and had just finished when the yellowjacket landed on me. Since my last run-in with this bunch of wasps resulted in steroids and an epi-pen, we were done for the day. Never have I wished so for a good, hard freeze.

The yard. Well... Our late summer and early fall were sort of devoured by injuries, allergies, and appointments. Since school started, we've been lost amid the piles of books, calendar management, and practices of various types. So the back needs those trellises and supports stuck into their quikcrete, the ramp needs someone to crawl under it (haha), and the weedy bits need black plastic stretched over them. Winterizing is going to be hit and miss, I'm afraid. Although, if the current weather pattern keeps up, we'll be weeding well into December. Last winter, the tulips started coming up Christmas week. Perhaps we'll have a similar experience this year? Meanwhile, I'm going to try to be more patient about not being able to dig, pull, or lift - so many things to transplant to more favorable spots!

Q is well, if a bit confounding lately. We've had some slight changes to meds in an effort to eliminate the myoclonic jerks he's been experiencing. So far, no change. He's more or less unperturbed by these events, though, so we're all just monitoring for the time being.

Equipment needs are in flux again, since he gained eight pounds in ten months and outgrew everything. New wheelchair seating, foot and hand splints, and sit to stand stander are all in the works. I'm wondering about trying to figure out an adjustable bed, too, since we're all having a tougher time minding good body mechanics with dressing and other personal care needs. I need to think a little more on some of the details and pursue a variety of helpful supports, some of which I'm only vaguely aware at this point.

And now we sleep. Appointments tomorrow.